DOM BANGS A ROCKETTE, 19min., USA
Directed by Kelly Diaz
After picking up his nephew from elementary school in the Valley, East Coast transplant and aspiring adult film actor Ray, loses track of the kid, leading to the “New York style” kidnapping of an innocent man.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Tom wrote the screenplay for 'Dom Bangs a Rockette' a few years before we shot it, a few years before we even moved to LA. It was a project we kept putting off – life events just seemed to pop up in the way. Then March of 2020, I was in my second year of grad school at UCLA when everything shut down. Tom and I sat at home for a few months, like everyone else, and then we thought, "Maybe this is the perfect time to make this movie. Our schedules are certainly open." And we found that a lot of our friends, who were also grad students and filmmakers, felt the same way. We all wanted to keep working, to get back on set again. And I think making a comedy at that time was perfect. We all had enough stress; it was nice to escape into work, to throw ourselves into a project we cared about and then... laugh.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Years! Tom had a draft of it going as early as 2015, when we were living in Louisville, and it just kind of sat there until 2020. Once we were committed to shooting, it felt like things happened fast, but it was very surreal, everyone figuring out how to do things the best, safest way for COVID, even with our small budget. Lots of Zoom meetings. Lots of research. We wrapped principal photography in September of 2020. Then a new onslaught of life events that kept post on the back burner, and we finally wrapped post in May of 2023.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Adult comedy.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

COVID, without a doubt. (Though record-breaking heat and fires in the Valley in 2020 were a close second and third.)

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Absolute, beaming pride! We are very self-critical, so it's nice to hear positive feedback, especially from absolute strangers.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I never really thought about filmmaking as being a "real job" until I was in my late twenties, bored and disillusioned by teaching, and looking for something new. Tom, who has a BFA in screenwriting and grew up in lighting, is the one who suggested I try working in the art department. He was right - I loved it. And then I switched to camera, which is when I discovered I really loved directing. It just feels like a natural evolution.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

KELLY: Heathers. TOM: The 'Burbs/LA Confidential

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I've been really impressed with the four tiers at the Los Angeles Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival, the week of workshops at New Filmmakers LA and the booze cruise for filmmakers attending the Sarasota Film Festival.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Good – appreciative that there is such a streamlined way to apply and track applications and research festivals.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Sushi

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Tom and I are planning another short, called "Dogmeat." It's a crime drama that focuses on two former high school baseball players that are legends in their small towns, a string of robberies in the local convenience stores, and a coincidence that turns out not to be a coincidence at all. That'll be filming here in rural New Mexico, where we currently live.